The Water Cooler – The Owner of the Los Angeles Clippers

The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it!

The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon!

Today’s question:

Today, the NBA banned the owner of the L.A. Clippers, Donald Sterling, for racist comments he made during a secretly taped private conversation. The NBA is also fining Sterling $2.5-million and they plan to force him to sell the team.

Ridiculous. Yes, he’s (apparently) a bigot as well as a married pig of a 60-something year-old man with a gold-digging 25 year-old prostitute who parades herself around openly as his “girlfriend”, and he made some stupid, racist remarks during a PRIVATE conversation. His actions don’t begin to compare with the thug-like activities the league puts up with from its “athletes” but they suddenly need to hold him to some higher standard?? Yeah, he’s a pig. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to play for him and wouldn’t blame his players for refusing to play, BUT the league’s actions and feigned outrage here are ludicrous.

Kick him out of the league!! He can be fined, but not forced to sell. Maybe a large group of African-Americans can put together a bid and purchase the team – as long as it doesn’t include tax payer money.

all Black people like all white people?
What do they say about White People when
they are in private?
How this was recorded and released publicly,
I am unsure about. There could be issues there.
As despicable as his biases are, he is entitled
to feel as he will. But his practice of housing
discrimination doesn’t fly!
And I think he should step down, not so sure
they can just take the Team from him. At any
rate attorneys will be all over this($$$).
It is just so sad that in the 21st century we
aren’t furthur along in race relations.
It is however, one of humans most ingrained
instincts , regardless of race, our ancestors
feared those different than themselves,and
appearance wise, there can’t be much more
difference than between black and white.
I don’t know what the answer is, or if there is
an answer. Be nice to other folks, you never know
what that other person thinks of you.

Any punishent was too much. If it was a black owner with a white mistress and he said he didn’t want her bringing whites to the game with her the media and NBA would’ve totally ignored the whole thing or praised him for it.

Granted the guy is an idiot but what a wonderful example of double standards. A rich fat ole white guy gets nailed but for decades corporations have been victim to black “non profit” extortionists. Then there’s fomenting and fanning of public outrage to the point of violence by black opportunists in fictitious rape cases.

Everyone needs to be aware that there really is no privacy anymore. Especially the rich, famous, and powerful, need to be extra aware of such things as directional mikes that can pick up private conversations.

Sounds fair to me. He can hate these people all he wants; what he can’t do is discriminate against them. It’s already been proven in his prior court cases that he has done that. Sounds to me like he still is, especially when he’s screwing one in the back room, but god forbid they show up at his games in public!

I’m with @ . It was a private
matter and it is really nobody
else’s business. She could have
baited him into saying what he
said. She had every reason to.
He may not have expressed
himself very elegantly, but I
believe he had ever right to
request she behave in a
certain way considering how
much she was costing him.

Yes, he should be out of the league. From a PR perspective, the NBA has to do major damage control. Players & ex-players have been talking about forming their own league.

But honestly, this guy is a billionaire. 2.5 mill is not going to make a dent when you factor in how much more he will be ‘forced’ to sell the team for, compared to how much he paid for the team. He’ll make bank for his statements.

Sterling is a turd. What he says and does has no place in this country. He’s and ambulance chasing slum lord attorney who’s gotten rich by hosing minorities. He’s humping a minority behind (sort of) his wife’s back yet he’s not ok with someone who is black. He’s a piece of work!

The “private conversation” gang on this thread are missing the point. While not admissible in a court of law, these statements are admissible in the court of public opinion. The NBA is a club of rich folks who don’t like their brand tarnished by this sort of crap. Add into this the fact that 80% or so of their players are black and a large portion of thier customers (fans) are minorities means that the owners won’t take the hit to their bottom line.

“Little Dot” #1, the website that broke the story, TMZ, is reporting that people who have heard all of the recordings say that Donald Sterling definitely knew he was being recorded.

The NBA did the right thing, both morally and in terms of the business of professional basketball. Sponsors were cutting their ties with the team. The NBA would have faced a revolt from the players. There was too much at stake financially to let this continue. Sterling was seriously hurting the NBA brand. The league had to take a bold stand.

Sterling’s racist views have been known for years. The government sued him for discriminating against blacks and Hispanics in his apartment buildings. He treated women terribly, too. Sterling gets no sympathy from me.

The NBA and other sports organizations work under rules that are different than other businesses. As long as the owners agree to those rules and that way of doing business, then there is nothing else to say.

But if a man on the street wants to say what this owner said, he can, with no retribution.

If he was really racist his black head coach probably wouldn’t be the highest paid coach in the league. If it was such a big deal the players that have a problem with it could stop playing. But I guess they like the money too much.

From the looks of the photos
I saw of her, the ones he was
objecting to, she was whoring
around on him.

Normally, I don’t care for men
who try to keep women “in line.”
But she was obviously his “whore”
(he bought and paid for her) and
she was stepping out on him. He
was perfectly within his rights
to call her on it.

Claycord posters defending a racist, big shock. So just because there are black people that are racist towards white people means that it’s okay for white people to be racist? There is no justifying racism. Also, a black person calling another black person the N word (with an a) isn’t necessarily racist. It has a different meaning to the black culture when it is used by one of their own. Many black people don’t like the word at all but to say that they are being racist against themselves just shows ignorance of the culture.

Anyways, Sterling has got what he deserved. This isn’t the first time he’s said racist things. If he was illegally recorded then he can sue the person that illegally recorded him. Nobody is charging him criminally for his idiotic words. That’s covered by freedom of speech. However, freedom of speech does not protect you from public opinion. The public opinion is he said something offensive and people don’t want him as the owner of the Clippers.

The NBA grants a franchise to the owners, just like McDonald’s grants franchises to individual owners. The NBA has a brand and an image that they want to uphold. Sterling’s comments obviously does not reflect the opinion of the NBA. The NBA has every right to punish and to attempt to strip him of his franchise. There is a reason why they have the 3/4th majority owner vote for such cases.

A company has every right to fire their employees for any comments or actions that don’t reflect the values of the company.

He’s a jackass, but I’m not sure this is anything new regarding race in America. This is another example of a person with racist beliefs going public with those beliefs, albeit unintentionally. It gets media attention because of who he is and his position in a sport played predominately by black athletes, but we shouldn’t be surprised there are people who hold these opinions. Isn’t the first time we’ve had this dialog, won’t be the last.

Next time a Clan or Nazi leader spouts off, we should insist he sell his house, turn over all his assets, fine him and force him to leave this country! We simply cannot tolerate racism in someone’s speech! What laws or NBA rules did he break again? Maybe we can get him on adultery … And I hope he sues his little missy for blackmail which IS against the law!!!

This is just the beginning, other owners will be taken down for the same thing. The players who do the same should also get kicked out of the league. The people have to make sure the sponsors get tough with the league.

@RunDogRun Again, do you honestly believe that the context that black people use the N word to one another is the same context that a plantation owner used for a black slave? To the black culture the N word has multiple meanings. It could be an endearing word you use for someone you are close to to an insult that a person is ignorant. There are many black people that hate the word, even when said by their own race. The history behind the word is long and complex and there are countless books that go into how the word has been transformed over generations. .

What it comes down to, is that you are right, there is a double standard to the word. However, a white person or any other race has no right to use the word as they don’t have the background and history of what that word entails.

For the record, I’m not black. I’m a mix of different races and have been called racist things from both sides of my ethnicity (both serious and of jest). It doesn’t bother me now, but growing up it hurt and felt like I had no identity.

Come on people. Isn’t time to stand up against this b.s. talk? Clearly he gets off on “owning” the team. I think in California the law states only one person has to be aware of the conversation being recorded. Jesse Jackson suffered the same beat down when he came out with that and it was 30-40 years ago. Live and let live. Think what you want, but I personally do not want to hear your racist, gay bashing, only white people should live in “Amurica” crap.
What is the harm in being nice to everyone?

I haven’t seen any report that actually says it is him on the tape, nor have I seen anything that shows the tape hasn’t been doctored. What is in the reports is that the tape was released by a person that he is suing for stealing from him. I believe the NBA has acted too quickly. However, the NBA is a private organization and they can do what they want.
Please, I would like to see one person that has never had a racist thought, that includes crossing the street when you see a bunch of kids dressed as thugs.

The same people who want the private organization of the Boy Scouts of America to allow gays in scouting are saying the NBA is a private organization and can do what they want because they are a private organization. My head hurts.

Yes, our country protects free speech. The government is not arresting him for what he said. The government is in not punishing him in any way for what he said.

However, you can and will be judged in the court of public opinion for what you say. If you are an NBA team owner, you will be judged by the people you are in business with – the NBA, your fellow team owners, your team sponsors. When you say things that endanger their common good and their finances, they will come down hard on you to the extent that their legal agreements allow. In this case, the legal agreements allow the NBA to fine him $2.5 million and ban him from all NBA facilities and activities. They allow companies that sponsor his team to cut ties with the team.

Freedom of speech does not mean there will be no consequences for what one says.

The guy is an rich, arrogant bigot. I may not like this racist SOB but this was said in private or so he thought. That”s what you get for diddling with a brainless bimbo who is only after your money. What about disgruntled idiots who can take a gun into the workplace and shoot to kill??? Genocide in the Congo?? This guy is a relic and he’ll be dead soon anyway……

I just listened to the recording. It sounded like a jealous man with a skank of a “girlfriend”! In fact it sounded like elder abuse the way she kept pushing him. I hope he sues her for recording a conversation she obviously wanted to record to destroy him.
But then again there is only one reason she is with him and he must know that on some level.
The NBA is wrong! And there is no word low enough for tmz.
The whole thing is sad. WOW! As long as every player can say they have never shown any racism then sure ban him.

Doesn’t matter. It’s just more government propaganda thru their controlled media outlets to take any spot lite away from the newest upcoming Snowden leaks.
The Republic is dead, LONG LIVE the oligarchy!

@Confused There is nothing to be confused about, they are just hypocritical bigots.

It seems many people on here should take the advice of their mother’s. “If you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all.” If you live by those words you won’t get yourself in trouble. If you decide to say something stupid then don’t be surprised when people call you out on it.

All you people that say that because he said it in private makes it alright are clueless. He is not being prosecuted by the government but is being prosecuted by public opinion. Was it wrong that he was recorded? Yes. Should that change the opinion that people have of him? No. Does he deserve to be kicked out of the NBA. Absolutely.

When you are a representative of a business you need to be responsible for your actions both in public and private. Nobody is stopping you from thinking the way you do, but you will be judged for it.

Does anybody remember when the wife of the original owner of McDonalds said some stuff that was controversial? I can’t remember her name, but I think it was Krock or something like that. Was it the same situation? What punishment did she get?

It’s absurd for something he
said privately to his whore. And,
Kareem Abdul Jabar comments
on it. Very funny! Isn’t he the POS
who bragged about the hundreds of
women he had slept with. And, Magic
Johnson contracted HIV for his
promiscuity. Two fine examples
of their race calling the pot black.

Hypocrites. Though the Majority of the Comments here are spot on regarding privacy and illegally recording someone without their knowledge – Get that = illegal!!!
Now for the ones that think all this is okay and that it does not matter whether or not it was illegal because of what came out of it – For you – I want you to go ahead and post transcripts of your most intimate conversations from the bedroom with your spouse. From those conversations we will decide whether or not you are a potential pedophile, dirty old man, whore etc.
–
It’s nothing more than PROPAGANDA and you have all been DUPED. When will you cancel your cable and tell the mainstream media to #%$^ Off???

While Sterling’s actions in the past are disgusting and he was found guilty of discrimination, he has done nothing illegal by civil standards in this incident. Thinking that the NBA does not have a leg to truly stand on as the recording was done illegally and would not be admissible in court. All Sterling needs to say is “I do not recall ever having that conversation, prove it was me”. Is he allowed to take this to civil court or is he tied to binding arbitration with the NBA? Anyone know?

@55Pyrrhus It is a double standard, period.
Double standards are not equal. The word
Negro means black in French. It had been in
use for centuries. Because of the the manner of pronounciation in the white South, it came out
sounding like “negra” which was mistakenly
*heard* as what is referred to today as the “N”
word. Blacks made it what it is today … a derogatory perversion of the French word for black.

GG, Sterling admitted to NBA investigators that it was him on the audio. The NBA does have the legal authority to fine Sterling and ban him from facilities. It’s part of the legal agreements that govern the league and he is required to abide by as an owner. The NBA Commissioner plans to ask the other team owners to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. If 3/4 of them vote to force him to sell, he will be required to do so. Sports reporters are saying the the Commissioner must be confident he has the votes or he wouldn’t have said that’s what he plans to do.

No one is saying that Sterling’s comments are against the law, but they are morally repugnant to most of us and they are a disaster for the NBA. The NBA is using the power it has to clean up the huge mess created by Sterling. The issue threatened the very existance of the league. Corporate sponsors no longer wanted to be associated with the Clippers. Players were threatening to boycott the playoffs. There’s no way the people running the NBA were going to risk so much to defend the indefensible, the racist ramblings of an obnoxious owner who had a long history of bigotry and horrible behavior.

Seems there are a lot of people who are confused about freedom of speech. I’m free to say almost anything I want. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get fired from my job for saying anything I want. And if it is a private conversation and it becomes public, chances are I’ll still be fired.

This dude was playing with matches and that freaky looking whore burned him bad. It’s beyond me how and idiot can become so wealthy.

good questions in the twitter sphere. If they will do this for his comments on blacks, what is next, gays, gay marriage, muslims, Christians, Democrats, Republicans, women, etc.

I hope he sells the team on his own to a buyer who will move it out of LA. I think Seattle still wants a team. Screw the LA fans. With Magic Johnson being very vocal about his support of the NBA commissioner, I am dumping all my Dodger stuff.

Who cares? Clearly, the players, the fans, the sponsors, me and my 7 year old grandson who is wearing black socks today in solidarity with the players. Private or not, prejudice is oh-so-ugly and unacceptable n any and every situation and thankfully, no longer quietly accepted today as SOP.

I guess your right Connie. I saw her picture and my skeezer alert started going off and wouldn’t stop ’till I pulled the batteries. Dark souls, the both of them. And I’d never heard of either one of them until yesterday about this time. Maybe CNN will find some plane parts and we can all forget about this, as I could give a damn about the dignity of NBA players. Homophobic bastids anyways.

His girlfriend is a piece of crap just like him!! I hope she gets sued!!! That beng said, doe we really want the ‘thought” police!!! We are not free anymore!!! A prvate conversation in your own home can ruin your life!!!! Crazy!!!!

Also, it`s a double standard. Those players are making racist comment all throughout the game. Not to mention the politicians and holloywood stars ! It`s dispicable to single one out and let all the others off with a free pass!!! I DON`T like hypocrites!!!!

I think if our private conversations or thoughts were televised to the world we would ALL be in hot water. I am still very uncomfortable with his racist remarks. I just feel it was more to the story after his kept woman turned on him. He is being punished for that and all the racist remarks. It is terrible that he has all those black people working for him and he believes that one should not be seen with a black person, Maybe he was jealous and said that so that whore of a girlfriend would stay away from them as men. Maybe he really does not think blacks are bad just that he was jealous of them with that lady. Am i crazy? Just an idea.

@ Urban Spaceman – Actually, Ray Kroc was a salesman of milkshake machines which he sold to the brothers called Dick and Mac McDonald. He was so enamored of their system that he bought them out and expanded it to the great enterprise we know today.

I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn.
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind–
Of such I dream, my world!

When a woman born Maria Vanessa Perez in October 1982 in Los Angeles successfully petitions to change her name to V. Stiviano in 2010 dates you when she is just 31 years old and you are 80 years old … Don’t give her over 2.5 million in gifts and expect her to be involved in your life because she loves you and loves the sex ….

@109 Pyrrhus
The “black experience” pales by
comparison to what Native Americans
have suffered in this country, yet
we hear about it day in and day
out by a bunch of whining one
percenters who play basketball.
The poverty on some reservations
in the United States is staggering.
But, I don’t see any of these
douchebags offering their
assistance. No, they are too
busy whining about what one
of their own said to his whore
in private. Give me one reason
why they deserve any sympathy
from me?

The “black experience” pales by
comparison to what Native Americans
have suffered in this country. The
poverty on some reservations in the
US is staggering. Do these douchebags
care? No, day in and day out we hear
these whining one percenters carrying
on about what one of there own said
to his whore in private. Give me one
good reason why they should get any
sympathy from me.

The “black experience” pales by
comparison to what Native Americans
have suffered in this country. The
poverty on some reservations in the
US is staggering. Do these douchebags
care? No, day in and day out we hear
these whining one percenters carrying
on about what one of there own said
to his whore in private. Give me one
good reason why they should get any
sympathy from me. There are people
in this country who actually deserve
it.

There is no denying he is a total p.o.s, but it is probably safe to assume his lawyers are working 24/7 to appeal that decision and fine. Even If he is forced to sell then he will still profit big time. Isn’t the team worth 500+ million or more?

I only heard he admitted it was him in the recordings, *not* that he knew he was being recorded which could be a whole other issue.

I think he wants out, he’s up in age and would get a big payday for selling the team despite the fines. What he said that was reported was in bad taste. But was this taken out of context? He is the owner, he does pay the players,etc. I think his thinking is of the typical Scrooge McDuck types, they just don’t say it out loud. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was high fived at the country club.
As far as the woman, I think he should have insulated himself or found a more mature mate his own age.

His racism is pathetic. Makes the rest of us look bad. If he wants to personally be a racist, that’s his business. But you can’t practice institutionalized racism as a slumlord. It’s against the law. As far as having a mistress who’s black and Hispanic, is he doing it to treat her like crap?

That’s like a guy who runs a shelter for abused woman saying to his abused wife, in private let those B’s need to learn a lesson not once but has a track record of degrading woman, beind sued for it on numerous occasions.

So why was she taping him?? He has a right to have his opinions As Long As They Do Not Get Reflected In His Work. And, I have to say, they do not. The players and coaching staff, even if he doesn’t like them, are paid the big Big Bucks.

I do not share his opinions, but top be honest, I haven’t heard one, even this week. He was telling his girlfriend (golddigger) not to bring her boyfriends to his games. From the way it was worded between them, it looks as if that would have been the case no matter what race they were.

I’m not making any excuses for this clown, I don’t respect him mainly for the way he ran his housing back when, but he does have a right to his opinions, whatever they are, and to have those opinions be kept private in his own home.

@NotPC and the NBA and other owners have a right to uphold a brand image and to protect their business. Whether you like it or not, Sterling damages the reputation of the league. The public is outraged, the coach and players don’t want to play for him, and sponsors have already pulled out.

What do you think would happen to a board member or CEO of a company that did something to make the company look bad and caused financial harm? They would be gone. When you work for a company you represent the company both in public and private. That’s why you need to be careful what you say and do even when you aren’t performing your job. Facebook has been the downfall of many employees who don’t understand this.